


Paw Beans

by SimonBlackchill



Series: Zenyatta and Genji's travels together [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (Temporarily?) unrequited crush, Cats, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Genyatta - Freeform, Light-Hearted, M/M, Not yet established relationship, Other, Travel, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Zenyatta and Genji travel together, Zenyatta loves cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 18:24:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11537913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimonBlackchill/pseuds/SimonBlackchill
Summary: Zenyatta and Genji have stayed in a busy city during their travels around the world. The day is hot, and to hide the heating Omnic from the scorching heat, they end up in a cat café. Genji discovers that his master adores cats, and he finds this discovery quite precious. Location: an unspecified busy city.





	Paw Beans

"Ask yourself every morning with anticipation and joy: who shall I meet today?"

Zenyatta opened the curtains, listened to a groggy Genji pull his sheets over his head from the sunshine. Every day was an exciting event for him, another one in a string of different ones in the line of beads he called his life. He turned around to see his student and travel companion stretch his synthetic limbs on the bed, yawn with his mouth open and roar the yawn out like a lion.

"The Iris has blessed us with glorious sunshine," said Zenyatta. His voice bubbled with the anticipation he had spoken of, the joy he had just preached. Not much of the morning light came through the small apartment window, but Genji could feel the warmth of the sun's rays comfortably.

To show no further laziness, however, Genji hoisted himself to sit on the bed, scratched his bare chest and suppressed another roar of a yawn. Instead he said: "It sounds like you have a destination in mind."

"There is a marketplace nearby." Zenyatta hovered from between the double bed and the wall to the small hallway that led to the entrance of the apartment. "We should fetch, perhaps, some fresh fruit and berries for the landlady. To pay back for her kindness."

Genji wiped his eyes with his fingertips and slid his hand through his hair, scratched the back of his head. He could have fallen asleep to the sound of Zenyatta's voice alone, but the Sun's rays and his cybernetic systems kept him awake. He had slept barely three hours, but slowly he felt full of energy again.

"Great idea, Master."

"Oh, how wonderfully sunny the day is. Come on now, Genji. Let us hurry."

Genji was no one to deny such a request. And especially not when the voice that ushered him had such an enthusiastic quality to it, a voice that told him Zenyatta was not all talk, but that he - even if metaphorically - walked the walk of facing every day with anticipation.

"Maybe I'll get breakfast from there?" Genji said and pulled a pair of loose shorts from the chair next to him. He heard a metallic clacking sound as Zenyatta clapped his hands together.

"Breakfast outdoors is always a good idea, is it not?"

"Heh. Gotta hope it won't get too hot, though," Genji said. "The sun's pretty intense..."

"If it does, then we go indoors." Genji knew his master preferred places with lots of people - cafés, bars, pubs, market places. It was easier to talk, to make contact, to make a difference with total strangers when they were naturally flocked together in such a manner.

Sitting together in cafés and pubs and ramen joints with Zenyatta was always a pleasure to Genji. And judging from the little jig Zenyatta did as he approached the door, the joy was mutual - in some respects at least. Genji got up, threw a thin layer of clothing over his body, hid his increasingly redder cheeks behind his visor, and followed his master on his hovering heels.

 

* * *

 

"You were right, my student," said Zenyatta and kept on waving the hand fan in front of his face. "It is quite hot in here."

The bustle around them only intensified the heat. The cooling systems in Genji's body kept him in a reasonable temperature, but the Omnic next to him did not have such an easy time. The cooling fans in the depths of his chest were almost loud enough to be heard through the chattering crowd of the marketplace, through the orders customers placed on food stands and through the eager salesmen declaring their products and prices to passers-by.

The metal and silicone of Zenyatta's body radiated with heat as the Celsius degrees accumulated closer to 35, even more in direct sunshine. They had found shade, but it was a small shadow of a food joint where heat still lingered, even when sun's rays did not.

"We should find better shade," said Genji.

"Yes, Genji, that is a good idea. The indoor plan that we discussed earlier is, perhaps, our logical next step."

"I will find a café for us, Master. Follow me, and focus on keeping cool."

"My model was not made for these temperatures," said Zenyatta as he hovered next to Genji, avoided a few people as they passed by. "Smoggy streets of London and the cold Nepali air suit me far better."

Genji looked to his left, to his right, and they crossed the street to a bigger shadow of a big building. Genji's vigilant eyes searched the area for good cafés, and at the same time he conducted a quick Internet search with his visor's browser to find any joints that hosted Omnics in a friendly manner. His gaze scanned the surroundings as he located the web search hits to the streets around him. And then, he found a match.

"Master, I think I found the perfect one. It caters to Omnics AND cyborgs like me-"

Once again the lack of sandal steps had Genji fooled. It took him a few sharp turns of his head to locate his master who had already crossed the street and hovered towards a colourful window, behind which one could see cosy furniture and painted... cat pictures?

"Master!"

Genji jogged his way Zenyatta's side, reached him before he could step inside.

"I wish to try this one."

"Does it cater to Omnics?"

"It does not seem to have a sign," Zenyatta said and pointed at the door. It only had a few stickers signifying payment methods, cards and even cash.

One sign in particular caught Genji's attention.

" _Wait outside for the door to be opened_ ," he mumbled the text out loud. It was hand-written in curly cursive, surrounded by little doodles of cat faces. " _We don't want our fuzzy friends to escape_..."

"Let us wait, and have them escort us inside," said Zenyatta. He reached for the small purse hanging from his belt - a leathery wallet that usually hid in the folds of clothing. "I shall pay our entrance fee."

"Entrance fee? What a rip-off."

"Genji!" scolded Zenyatta and lifted a finger. "It is what it is, and I wish to go inside. Refrain from such complaints."

"Yes, Master."

"Entrance fee cafés are not exactly a new thing to where you come from, are they? You have bunny cafés and cat cafés and maid cafés..."

"So you know about those."

"Oh, the service in the latter ones is quite delightful."

The mental image of Zenyatta engaging in small talk with cute young women dressed in ruffly skirts occupied more space in Genji's mind than he would have guessed. He could not decide whether the image was endearing or merely interesting. Or both.

Zenyatta interrupted his thoughts, himself not so interested in the memory of pleasantly dressed maid waitresses. "So let us not complain, and instead enjoy the pleasures this small amount of cash can grant us. Now, I believe someone is coming."

A lady with a bright smile and a voice as clear as a spring greeted them by the door. "Good day!"

"Peace be upon you," said Zenyatta and bowed his head. Genji followed suit.

"Table for two?" the waiter asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I believe you also would allow a humble Omnic such as myself to bask in the shade of your establishment?"

"But of course! We ain't got problems with you lot. We don't got no dress code either." She nodded towards Genji with a smile. "Come on in."

"How kind of you," Zenyatta said. "Come on, Genji. Let us enter."

The waiter was quick to close the door behind them, and let them through the second door into the café busy with conversation. If it hadn't occurred to Genji before - the type of establishment that this was - it certainly did now. If the scent of warm fur and living beings did not already tell it to Genji, it was the decor and the extra "personnel" that he detected upon entering.

The café had a high ceiling, and dozens of different levels had been nailed to the wall for climbing purposes. Fake branches and shady hiding spots had been reserved up higher on the walls, and from a few of them peeked glowing pairs of attentive eyes.

"Cats," Genji said.

"Exactly."

Zenyatta handed some coins over to the waiter, who promptly hid the coins into a cash register. She handed Zenyatta a small printed menu and a booklet of similar size. Zenyatta handed the menu over to Genji, and opened the first pages of the booklet. Every page had a coloured print of a different cat, its name written above the picture, and a short description.

"I'll first explain the rules to you, if you don't mind."

"Oh, by all means, ma'am."

"First, you much wash or wipe your hands, depending on what kind of hands you have," she said. "You have that small sofa over there by the window. It's near the hangout of Marnie, who right now seems to be in hiding someplace."

"Oh, here she is! My, her fur coat has a lovely colour. Look, Genji," said Zenyatta and pointed at the photo in the booklet.

"That's, uh, cute."

The waitress chuckled. "Remember to never lift our cats, or drag them or force them to stay. We recommend you buy some treats from us, or look for toys either in their boxes or, most likely, lying around on the floor."

The floor was a red carpet that had probably been vacuumed earlier during the day, but unfortunately the cats had already coloured it white, red, brown and black with their fur.

"Do you yet wish to order anything before I escort you to your place?"

"One cup of green tea," Zenyatta said and gestured towards Genji. "Nothing else, ma'am."

"Thank you."

Genji sank into the cushions of the dark red sofa, but Zenyatta merely hovered his behind above it. He crossed his legs into a lotus position, and Genji saw how he identified every feline friend he could see in his field of vision. He folded his fan and placed it on the small, fully wooden coffee table in front of them.

"The air conditioning is good at least." Genji shrugged.

"Yes, I feel much better here."

The small cameras behind Zenyatta's face were rarely visible, but in certain lighting Genji found he could observe their movements from the reflection of their lenses. And this time, Zenyatta's gaze was fixated upon the cats that wandered around the café, meowing and purring near other customers, looking for scratching and treats. Zenyatta placed his hands on his lap gently, and waited.

"It might take some time for them to come to you," said Genji.

"I am aware of this." Zenyatta found Marnie, the cat with black, orange and white in her luscious fur, and followed her approaching steps with his gaze. "And here seems to be the result of this short wait. Peace and blessings to you, young lady."

The cat meowed in return, resulting in a short gasp from Zenyatta's system. "Genji, she is talking to me."

Genji smiled. "Maybe it wants to know who or what you are?"

"Cats are more in tune with Omnic presence than dogs and other animals," said Zenyatta and watched as the cat warily took soft steps towards them. Her tail was high up, the very end of it twitched every now and then. She directed her ears straight forward. She was in an overall attentive position, curious about the strange guests near her favourite nesting spot.

"Does it know you're... You know." Genji waved his hand in the air. "Alive?"

"Who can peer into the mysterious mind of a domesticated feline?" asked Zenyatta. He laid his words out slowly and calmly, to not scare off the possible new acquaintance. The orbs around Zenyatta's neck moved a little, spun around for one quarter of a lap, and made Marnie the cat stop in her tracks.

Zenyatta quickly noticed this. The chuckle he let out landed right in the pit of Genji's stomach, made a shaky warmth spread to his limbs, even if artificial. He scratched the cheek of his helmet instinctively even though he had no itch on his physical body - the itch he had was emotional, mental, and that he could not but pretend to scratch.

"Cats like balls," said Genji.

"Orbs," Zenyatta nonchalantly corrected. One of his nine channeling orbs escaped the company of the other eight, and it slowly floated between him and the cat, next to the coffee table in front of him. The gaze of Marnie's eyes followed it keenly, and her pupils grew larger in size. Zenyatta made the orb spin around slowly, so the blue lights upon it would catch Marnie's attention. Soon enough, Marnie meowed, and tried the levitating orb with her paw. She pushed the orb and it moved as if floating in water, and moved right back to the same spot.

"What elegant paws," said Zenyatta. "Such calculated movements. Look, Genji, how her whiskers are directed straight forward, and how ready she is to catch this prey..."

The orb moved back, closer to the sofa. Marnie meowed, her voice had a demanding tone to it, and Genji giggled.

"Better not fool this one, she looks very goal-driven."

"All carnivores are goal-driven."

Marnie followed the orb all the way to the sofa. She placed her front paws on the cushion and watched as the orb flew to line up with its friends around Zenyatta's neck. So enamored by the cat was Zenyatta that he did not pay attention to the waiter who brought Genji his cup of tea.

"Seems you got another friend," said the waiter and nodded behind Marnie. A grey, black-striped cat of similar size arrived and made his presence known with a sharp meow. This caught Zenyatta's attention.

"Oh! This one, what is this one's name?"

He handed over the booklet to Genji, who quickly browsed through it to find a matching picture. He tapped the photograph with his fingertip.

"Tommy. He's a few years younger than Marnie here."

"Tommy!" Zenyatta repeated and clapped his hands together once. "How very adorable. Hello there, Tommy. Did you come to play with me and Marnie?"

Tommy meowed again, and much more loudly this time. He leaped to the sofa between Genji and Zenyatta, smacked Genji a few times with the tail as it wagged with the hunter's instinct. Genji reached to pet his back, and he was pleased with the attention, though did not respond to it any other way than arching his back.

Zenyatta moved the orbs around his neck, slowly, to not scare the two new friends he'd made. Marnie took the brave leap forward and landed on the sofa, then on the backrest of it, and both cats pawed at a separate orb at once. Zenyatta spun them around themselves and turned to look at both cats' faces one after another. He lifted his hand towards Marnie for her to sniff it, and when she did not move back, he dared himself to scratch her chest too. When he felt the fluff between his fingers, he gasped again.

"How very soft..."

Genji found a word for the sound of Zenyatta's voice: _dreamy_. Had he found Zenyatta's personal heaven - surrounded by cats?

Tommy placed his paws on Zenyatta's thigh and pushed himself upwards to smell the orbs. Zenyatta turned his attention to him, tilted his head and observed the cat's face keenly.

"So you are the younger one. A young, enthusiastic cat ready fo-"

His words were interrupted as Tommy's grey paw found Zenyatta's chest. He placed his pack legs on the Omnic's thigh and stood on two legs, his face on the same level now with Zenyatta's.

"Well, hello there once again. What intimate contact we have, my friend."

"I think he's looking at, uhm," Genji said and gestured towards his own, hidden forehead. "The... the lights, Master."

The lights on Zenyatta's forehead flickered sometimes, with an enigmatic purpose Genji was yet to decipher. He knew Zenyatta could do it at will, and that perhaps they were connected, somehow, sometimes, to the orbs around his neck. Whenever Zenyatta went on standby mode - which was rarely - they would go dim, although not shut down.

Now, they did shut down, all at once. Then, the middle one lit up, flickered a few times, and darkened again, only to have the one above it light up. Marnie walked her way behind Zenyatta's head, inspected Tommy's actions from there, barely aware of the lights Tommy was so fixated upon. Tommy lifted a paw, curled his toes a little before smacking it against Zenyatta's forehead. Genji laughed.

"Aww, smackdown."

"Oh, Tommy," said Zenyatta, "you did not catch it. Now it is over there."

The right corner light lit up, and Tommy placed his paw on it, only to have the left lower one light up. Zenyatta lowered his head enough for Tommy to have an easier access to the metal, to the lights right above Zenyatta's eyes. As Tommy leaned to Zenyatta's head with one paw, the other one he kept curled in front of him and Zenyatta could have a look at it. With the softest grip possible he took a hold of Tommy's paw, and felt the soft beans underneath it against his own, hard, fingertips.

"Ahh," he exclaimed. "They are just as soft as I remembered."

"What are?" Genji said. He eyed at his tea cup, wondered whether to drink it or not. He did not crave for tea, and drinking it meant he'd have to remove his mask.

"The toe beans," said Zenyatta. He lowered his head even more and placed the paw on the palm of his hand, and with the other hand he poked at the toes. "They are so squishy, are they not?"

His voice was high in pitch, softer and sweeter than cotton candy. Genji, for now, decided against removing his mask, for that would have revealed a blush of surprise. "Squishy?"

"Cat paws are so very warm and squishy," said Zenyatta. "I find myself enamored by them every time I see them... Touch them." A sigh escaped his system. "Though I do not believe this one will let me smell them."

"Smell?" Genji repeated, somewhat flabbergasted.

"It is alright. Touching them is an honour and a privilege in itself, and I do not require more. I humbly thank the Iris for this opportunity..."

Genji furrowed his brow and shamelessly stared at the scene unfolding before him. A flustered, elated Zenyatta giving himself in to be a quite literal toy for a cat, whose paws he worshipped.

"Do you really like them that much?"

"Cats are a blessing on this Earth, Genji. They are like spirits wandering the Earth, choosing to be our strange yet so captivating companions. They have helped humans and thus, by extension, us Omnics," Zenyatta spoke - no, nearly sang his words. Tommy pulled his paw from the grip to pat at Zenyatta's forehead. Soon enough, however, the other paw landed on Zenyatta's hand, and he could resume the soft squishing motion.

"The softness of his paws on my head... Calming, yet thrilling. I could stay here for hours."

The grouched back and head pushed forward was not a beneficial position, but for an Omnic it was nothing to stay in the same position for hours. And Genji knew that when Zenyatta said he could do something for hours, he usually meant it.

"Well... We aren't in a hurry."

"It is true. That is why I... Would like to stay here for a while longer, Genji."

Marnie sniffed at the top of Zenyatta's head and nudged herself closer to the back, where the Omnic's systems warmed up the plastic and metal. Zenyatta heard and felt this, and let out a giggle that set fireworks in Genji's emotions. A silly smile spread on Genji's face.

"S-sure."

"I am truly thankful you came here with me," Zenyatta said. "Truly, Genji."

Genji took a deep breath and straightened his back. He placed his palms on his knees and bowed his head down in a sharp movement.

"Any time, Master!"

 

* * *

 

"A-any time now... Master..."

Genji held his hand on the door knob and rolled his shoulders. The café was already deserted, and he shared a long, meaningful look with the waiter.

"Just a moment more," whispered Zenyatta. His whisper nearly drowned in the cat fur he nuzzled his face against. Marnie snored against his back, and Tommy rubbed his face against the warm chest.

"The world is full of cats with paw beans," Genji said.

"This moment is not eternal." Zenyatta scratched Tommy's head and resumed squishing the relaxed cat's front paws. "I must bask in it."

It may not have been eternal - but it sure felt like it. Genji suppressed a groan and dug his pockets for a tip to the amused waiter.

**Author's Note:**

> \- I named the cats after my friend's and my mother-in-law's cats. I based the cat café's rules on those of a place I have visited myself.  
> \- This image was in my head and I wrote this out fairly quickly, because I wanted to produce some cutesy, somewhat fluffy Genyatta content. Though Genji's feelings are yet to be revealed... I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it!  
> \- Check out the [drawings my fiancée made](http://little-amb.tumblr.com/post/163650952642/if-you-love-cats-and-genyatta-here-we-go-its) for this fic!  
> 


End file.
